Summary: I died on a Thursday—killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul.The good news? He didn’t get it.

The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school .

Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent “recovering,” she’s back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend.

But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won’t keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn’t just gambling with her own life .

The more I read this series, the more I love it! Where else are you going to get a story about a girl who’s now trying to struggle to fit in with her human friends.

I think my favorite part was seeing Kaylee adjust to life in the human world. She really has to concentrate on staying visible in school, and I liked that she’d randomly start disappearing in the middle of class. While Kaylee doesn’t always want to go to her dad when stuff happens, in the end, she does end up telling him, which I really like. I mean, a lot of times, parents are totally absent, and I like that Kaylee seems to have the good sense to go to him when things get weird…well, weirder than normal, anyway.

I kind of wish we saw a little bit of her training, because I’m super-curious about her training actually entails. Especially when you learn that Kaylee, her boss and a necromancer are the only people left in her department. Add in Avari being able to cross over to the human world while borrowing the soul and body of people. Especially if it’s someone Kaylee knows…because Avari is one twisted hellion.

Kaylee and Tod are so adorable together, and they make a great couple. It’s nice seeing them together. The stakes are getting higher with each book, and while the ending wasn’t what I was expecting, I can’t say it was all that surprising. I’m almost nervous to see who’s going to be next- hopefully, no one, but I doubt everyone will survive. If they do, I’ll be surprised.

At this point, Before I Wake is tied with If I Die for my favorite book in the series! Seriously, Kaylee coming to terms with being dead, and the guilt she feels over a certain event in the book, and trying to hold onto her humanity…I loved that part of it. I’m sort of amazed at how different Kaylee is now, and how much she’s changed since the beginning of the series. Her struggle with her immortality was great to see.

Final Thoughts:

I totally can’t wait to read the next (and last) book. I can’t wait to see where Vincent takes things after the events in Before I Wake, because things have gotten a lot more interesting. Before I Wake was completely awesome, and gets 5 stars!